Cookifi, chef and cook hiring platform, announced that it has raised an undisclosed seed funding from Kunal Shah, Chairman of FreeCharge, and Aneesh Reddy Co-Founder and CEO of Capillary Technologies, Tracxn Labs, Venkat Tadanki, CEO of Secova, Krishna Mehra, Co-Founder at Capillary Technologies, Amit Rathore, Founder and CEO, Quintype, and other angels through TracxnSyndicate.
Currently operational in Bangalore, Cookifi provides a personal party chef at your doorstep at your convenience on a click. Cookifi caters to a wide demographic of users celebrating their kids’ birthday, hosting get-togethers, private parties, kitty parties and likes. It also serves homemakers, working professionals and big families who want cook on demand.
The funding will enable the company to expand its operations in other cities and extend its technology solution for a better user experience. Cookifi aims to leverage technology to provide customization when it comes to house party chefs and menu planning. Cookifi uses an advanced chef allocation algorithm (using variables such as spice preferences, cuisine preferences) to help customers get what they want with minimum effort.
Ajay Modani, Co-Founder, Cookifi said, “One of the most important things when you are planning a party at home, be it a kids birthday, get together or day-to-day cooking, is food and there is a huge gap between high volume caterers and regular cooks. There was no right platform or source to hire professional chefs or cooks for such occasions. Cookifi is using technology to make chefs and cooks more accessible to book on demand, with the ease of a tap.”
Cookifi has selected cooks listed on its platform through its strong on boarding process, ensuring adherence to cleanliness standards and immediate escalation handling. The company has Cook on Demand feature to cater to working professionals who want to book a cook as and when required with an ease of click.
According to Prachi Malu, Co-Founder, Cookifi, “It is very difficult to find a service provider who matches your expectations viz. taste of food, budget, cleanliness and discipline. We analysed and understood that there is a huge market potential for such player and fill the gap given that quality should be the focus.”
Cookifi enables the customer to discover chefs and cooks around them and provide a perfect hiring solution, aimed at being quick, easy and reliable. Customers can hire a cook on a tap or a click. The built-in artificial intelligence capabilities helps customers to do less and get more in a simpler manner. Transparent pricing and quick online payments provide a hassle-free experience. A two-way feedback mechanism helps Cookifi to maintain a high-quality standard. After each job, the customer can rate the service provider and similarly the service provider can rate the customer.
"Keeping current traction in mind, we estimate on an average a customer will use Cookifi on Demand three times a month and Cookifi experience once in a month. With this, we estimate the market size to be $20.6 billion in top six cities of India,” said Harsh Singla, Co-Founder, Cookifi.
According to Neha Singh of Tracxn, “ "We're convinced by Cookifi’s mission to organise a large addressable market in the unorganised sector. We see a growing appetite for an on-demand chef service as India’s millennials work longer hours than the previous generation, and they don’t have the time or inclination to cook an elaborate meal. Building a world class customer experience is at the core of such a service, and we're confident that the Cookifi team will maintain it at scale."
The company was founded in June 2015 and has already served over 3500 customers so far.
About Founders
Ajay ModaniAjay Modani, Co-founder of Cookifi, has gained proficiency in business management, business intelligence, operational management and underscores expertise in engaging decision makers. He is an expert in devising winning strategies along with solutions. Before Co-founding Cookifi, Ajay was the Co-founder and COO at Capillary Technologies. His expertise spans from Operations and Client Servicing.
Graduate from IIT Kharagpur with a B.Tech in Industrial Engineering, Ajay religiously believes in the mantra ‘making things happen’ and consistently use the same philosophy to achieve his goals.
Harsh SinglaHarsh has an MBA from IIM Indore & has completed his graduation from NIT Surathkal. He leads sales and marketing for Cookifi. Before co-founding Cookifi, Harsh led the entire Account Management vertical at Capillary Technologies & worked at ITC Infotech as a Senior Associate focusing on data-driven strategies & analytical approach. He believes in "attracting, engaging and retaining" the right customers and helps create a strong brand and customer engagement for Cookifi.
Prachi MaluA food enthusiast & food explorer, Prachi takes care of food R&D and Innovation at Cookifi. With a zeal to impact lives of the people around her, she looks after strategies to develop the capacity of the existing service providers & upgrade their skills to a higher level.
Having completed her MBA in Human Resources, she has experience in talent acquisition at Azim Premji Foundation & Walmart Labs. Prachi is also building & nurturing talent at Cookifi by strengthening team members & retaining service providers.
